


Penny For Your Nightmares?

by larislynn



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, F/M, Flashbacks, Fluff and Angst, Fluffy Ending, Near Death Experiences, Nightmares, Protective Bucky Barnes, Reader-Insert
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-07
Updated: 2020-06-07
Packaged: 2021-03-03 19:40:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,977
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24580963
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/larislynn/pseuds/larislynn
Summary: After a particularly bad nightmare, you learn that opening up might not be as bad you thought.Prompt List #76 "I had the weirdest dream"
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Reader
Kudos: 51





	Penny For Your Nightmares?

The waves came crashing down around you. Thunder boomed overhead, and lightning struck the water. With every stroke you made the surface seemed to grow farther and farther away. A cry tried to escape your lips, but as soon as you opened your mouth water filled your lungs. 

You shot up in bed, heart pounding. Electricity danced along your fingertips, increasing the level of static energy in the room. It happened again. No matter how many times you told yourself the fear was irrational, nightmares still plagued your dreams. 

Sam tried his best to get you to go to therapy, but you thought you could deal with it yourself. Trying to sake off the clammy post-nightmare feeling, you lightly stepped out of bed. The cold wood floor sent a shiver down your spine. Grabbing the slippers from your bedside, you slipped them on. That was better.

As silently as possible, you opened your door and creeped down the hall. The absolute last thing you needed was the team waking up. Thankfully the kitchen was right down the hall. The time displayed on the stove clock illuminated the counter. 

3:01 A.M. Deep down you knew you needed rest, but the idea of a nice hot cup of coffee appealed to you more. Besides, after what happened, you weren’t sure if you even _wanted_ to go back to sleep. 

Taking out your favorite mug from the cabinet, you added in the perfect amount of coffee and sugar. Tony liked to make fun of you for not using the coffee machine, but there was something so soothing about preparing it yourself. As you filled the kettle up with water, a voice came from the living room. 

“You know, Sam says tea is better to have at night. Caffeine will just keep you up.” 

Your heart skipped a beat as the kettle clattered noisily into the sink. “God, Bucky don’t scare me like that. Almost gave me a heart attack.” 

“Sorry doll,” you rolled your eyes at the pet name but you smiled anyways, “mind if I ask why you’re up in the first place?” 

“I could ask you the same thing,” you said, purposefully dodging the question.

“I’ll tell you if you tell me,” he countered.

You sighed in defeat as you continued filling up the kettle. There was no way you’d be able to leave this kitchen without talking about your feelings. God, Sam was practically determined to turn everyone in the tower into a psychologist. “Alright fine.” you said, turning on the stove, “ _I_ _had the weirdest dream_ , happy now?” 

“Well, I’d be a lot happier if you told me what exactly this weird dream was about.” 

“Okay, so it wasn’t a dream, more of a nightmare. I was caught in the flood again. Except this time I never made it out. It felt like my lungs were filling with water, I couldn’t breathe. Instead of being saved by the lightning strike, I drowned.” You said it all in one breath, not wanting to dwell on it. “I know it’s stupid, because in reality I didn’t drown, I’m perfectly fine. And yet,” you trailed off, staring at the coffee grounds in your cup.

Bucky made his way to the kitchen counter and took a seat on the barstool next to you. “Doll, look at me,” when you didn’t even glance up he grabbed your coffee mug away from you.

“Hey,” you exclaimed, “What was that for?” 

“I asked you to look at me, and you didn’t so I had to come up with something else. But now it’s my turn to share why I’m up. You’re not the only one in this tower plagued by nightmares. Every night I relive my days as _him._ And even though I know that part of me is gone, that I’ll never be the Winter Soldier again, the thought of it still terrifies me. So no, it’s not stupid.” 

“What do you do to cope with it all? I feel like sometimes it’s just too much to deal with.”

  
“That’s just it, doll. Sometimes things can’t be ‘dealt with’, and you need to talk to someone to help you through it.” 

You rolled your eyes as you snatched back your cup. Sliding off the barstool, you walked back over to the stove. “Sam put you up to this, didn’t he,” you asked as you poured the water. 

“No,” Bucky sighed, “he didn’t. But he was the one who encouraged me to open up about things. Something you could benefit a lot from.” 

“Alright, say I do talk things out, then what?”

“Then you have a support system who can help you.”

“Well, I don’t know-”

Bucky cut you off, “How about this, if you aren’t ready to talk to a professional, the next time you have a nightmare you come to me and tell me about it. Alright?”

Turning to face him, you nodded in agreement, “Okay, deal.” As you took a sip of coffee a sudden clap of thunder shook the tower. Lightning lit up the darkened room a second later as rain started to pour down. 

Your blood ran cold as you felt fear grip you. Closing your eyes you kept telling yourself that you were safe, but it wasn’t helping.

Bucky looked over at you, worry laced in his voice, “Doll, what’s wrong?” 

“Oh, yeah, it’s nothing just the storm,” you paused for a moment but then decided to open up a little. As you walked back to the barstool, you took a deep breath. “The flood was caused by a sudden storm like this one. I don’t mind a little rain, but when it’s unexpected I just freeze up.” 

He gently put his hand over your own. “Is there anything I can do to help?” he asked.  
  


You shook your head ‘no’, but then reconsidered. “I was going to sit on the couch and try to watch some dumb reality TV,” you replied quietly. “It usually helps me to calm down to laugh at something, and it could block out some of the noise from the storm. Would you want to watch it with me? If not that’s alright, I should be fine.” 

“No, that sounds great, besides I wasn’t planning on going to bed anytime soon,” he answered with a smile. 

That’s how you two ended up falling asleep on the couch together, HGTV playing in the background. You awoke the next morning to find that Bucky had ended up wrapping a protective arm around your shoulders. Somehow you managed to slip out of his embrace so it wouldn’t result in an embarrassing situation. 

Neither of you talked about it that day, but a few nights later when you were up again from another nightmare you found yourself back on the couch with him, this time watching a sitcom. 

Before either of you realized it, it became a habit. If you or Bucky woke from a nightmare, or if a sudden storm came on, both of you would go to the living room and put on some cheesy show. Luckily none of the other team members ever found out, or you’d both be teased about it relentlessly. 

Through it all, you found yourself developing feelings for Bucky. Even though you tried to tell yourself those feelings were strictly platonic, you’d be lying if you said you would refuse a relationship with him. 

It wasn’t until a month later when you realized just how dependent on him you had become. Bucky was out on a mission, but since it was a low-level threat, you were able to stay at the tower. Some of the team had accompanied him, so the compound was a lot quieter than usual. 

Wanda was preparing dinner while you and Sam sat at the counter debating conspiracy theories.

“I’m just saying, don’t you think we would know if Area 51 had aliens? We’re the Avengers, and Thor is literally an alien.”

“No, Sam, because I don’t trust the government. Just because I technically work for them doesn’t mean I need to believe everything they say.”

Wanda chimed in, “I think it might be something from another dimension. Didn’t Dr. Strange mention something about a multiverse when he helped us with that mission last year?”

“Exactly,” you agreed, “it doesn’t have to be an ‘alien’ as we would define it.” 

The lights started to flicker, and an uneasy knot formed in your stomach. Sam glanced at the lamp and back at you, “Y/N, are you doing this?” 

“No, it must be a storm,” you responded, your voice shaky. 

FRIDAY’s voice spoke over the intercom, “There is a severe thunderstorm coming in. Flash flooding may occur.” 

It was like a vice was crushing your lungs. You didn’t want the others to see you panic over a _storm_ , so you made up an excuse. “Ya know what guys, I’m not feeling hungry. I’m gonna go lie down for a bit.” 

Wanda and Sam exchanged a look as you exited the kitchen but said nothing. 

As you crawled under the covers of your bed, you put in your earbuds and started playing some soothing music. However it didn’t help, and nothing could help you fall asleep. You crept to the closet and pulled out an oversized shirt. Bucky had lent it to you during one of your reality tv marathons and you never ‘found the opportunity’ to give it back. At some point you probably could have, but you wanted to hold onto it for a little while longer. 

Slipping it on over your head, you took a deep breath. It still had traces of his cologne on it, and it made you feel a bit safer. When you crawled back into bed, you fell asleep almost immediately. 

A knock resounded at your bedroom door, and you answered groggily, “Come in.” 

“Hey doll, I just thought I’d let you know the mission went well. By the way, Sam mentioned that you were acting strange during last night’s storm,” he paused mid-sentence, a slight smirk on his lips, “Is that my shirt?”

You glanced down, vaguely remembering slipping it on the night before. “Possibly,” you answered sheepishly. “I couldn’t sleep and you weren’t here so I just, sorry,” you trailed off.

“It’s fine, it looks cute on you,” he mumbled, brushing a loose strand of hair back from his eyes. “But I came here to ask if you’re alright? Sam told me about you leaving when the storm hit and I was worried.”

“I managed to fall asleep, but it took a while. I’m feeling better now, though.”

“There’s another storm on the radar, do you want to go play Uno or something until it ends?”

You smiled in response, “That sounds great, thank you.” 

When you put down the +4 card and called out “UNO!”, Bucky laughed and rolled his eyes.

“Wow, I had some good cards that time too. You’re lucky I decided not to play them.” 

“Uh huh, I believe that,” you chuckled.

Later that night during the team movie night you found yourself sitting next to him, head on his shoulder. “I think I love you,” you whispered, thinking he wouldn’t hear. Hoping he wouldn't hear.

He turned to look at you. Damn that supersoldier serum. “Say that again doll?” 

Taking a deep breath, you felt your chest tighten. Might as well get it over with, you just hoped it wouldn’t ruin things between the two of you. “I love you,” you repeated, still a whisper, but more sure this time. 

“I love you too. I didn’t want to say anything because I didn’t want to mess things up, but I love you too.” 

“Look, I get you two are having a moment,” Sam said from the other side of the room, "but some of us are trying to watch a movie." 

**Author's Note:**

> Hey y’all! So this is from a prompt list I’ve been looking at for ideas. I will be posting the list on my tumblr (@thenewlarislynn) right after this! My inbox will be open to requests, just give me a number and ship! (No pedophilia or incest ships tho please!) As always, kudos and comments are appreciated! Love you all <3 (And if you’re protesting please stay safe!)


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